The Journey Ahead
by SpartaLazor
Summary: Ashley B341 ends up getting sucked into a different world than her own, where she learns of the man who wants to take over all the worlds he can get his hands on. Teaming up with a group of unlikely heros, Ashley is determined to stop this man, who possesses god-like powers, and also unravel the secrets of a world in between other worlds, known as the Sidera.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter One: Ruptures_

**Reach**

**August 30, 2552**

Three Banshees flew through the skys of fire, the one leading the group leaving a trail of black smoke in its wake.

The two following fired several rounds of plasma into the lead Banshee, aiming for the engines. Blue bolts hit the canopy, missing the target. The lead Banshee boosted forward, outrunning the latter two.

"Suckers," Ashley B341 muttered. Her Banshee was smoking from the left engine, which would mean that she couldn't boost as much in order to avoid a malfunction.

The Spartan was flying toward a Covenant Cruiser, which seemed to be making preparations for slipspace. She didn't know much about the Covenant modius operandi, or their ways of operating, but her best guess was on a slipspace jump. She had seen several others making their way out of the system this way, some still near the ground.

Ashley sighed as she floored the booster once again, risking the overheating and possible explosion of the engine. "Almost there," she muttered, ignoring the warning lights flashing on the inside of the Banshee.

A flash of blue appeared at the head of the ship, signaling an open slipace portal. This wasn't good. She accelerated one last time, managing to get through the hanger shield. Ashley kicked the canopy open in mid-air, and bailed, letting the Covenant vehicle crash into a pile of purple crates.

She hit the ground, yellow shields flaring around her orange Air Assault armor. The Spartan jerked her MA5B off of her back, aiming it in all directions, only to see that there were no Covenant troops in the hanger.

"That can't be right," Ashley thought aloud, lowering her Assault Rifle. "The Covenant must have know I was coming, they could track the Banshee." Her eyes wandered up to a Phantom held by docking clamps. "I guess that's my new ride."

Ashley took a look out of the hanger, and saw the warped space that engulfed the ship. "Slipspace," she shook her head. "Now I have to wait."

She leaned against a wall, letting her thoughts wander around. Eventually, they settled on the fight that she and Noble Six had eariler. "Sucker," she said out loud. "I'm gonna live, and that kiss-ass no life will die on that glassed ball of dirt."

Even with all the malice that she had said it, she couldn't take it to heart. There was no way she could mean what she had said. She loved him too much.

All of a sudden, warning lights blared out across the hanger, signaling some disasterous event was about to unfold. Ashley looked up just in time to see the hanger's shields deactivate, sucking her out into the cold void of slipspace. There was no chance of surviving this at all...

**...**

**Valhalla Outpost Number One **

**Date Unknown**

She cracked her eyes open, only to be blinded by the harshly bright sunlight. As she heard a few muffled voices, Ashley blinked a few times and her vison returned to normal. She took a good look around, noting her surroundings. She was in a building, laying on the ground, and there were three Spartans standing around her. Two were in red Mark VI armor, the other in orange Mark VI armor.

"Are you okay?" The voice came from the red Spartan holding a Battle Rifle.

"Ugh... Yeah, I'm fine." Ashley took off her orange Air Assault helmet, letting her red hair fall to around her neck as she was inspecting her helmet for any damage. _I shouldn't be alive. What the hell happened? _She stood up, staggering as she tried to regain her balance.

"Holy shit! It's a girl! Dibs!" The orange one exclaimed.

Ashley looked up at him in surprise. She then punched him in the head as hard as she could. "Son of a bitch!" He exclaimed as he fell. That was weird. She didn't see any shields. _Maybe he had them deactivated. _

The red Spartan holding a shotgun chuckled. "Can you hit Grif again so I don't have to?" he asked her. Ashley smiled. "Sure." She kicked the one called Grif as hard as she could in the stomach.

Ashley turned to the one with the shotgun. "Now that that is out of the way, who are you?"

The one with the Battle Rifle answered. "I'm Simmons," he guestured to the one with the shotgun. "That's Sarge, he's in command here. Grif you already met." Grif moaned in response. Simmons looked at Ashley. "Who are you?"

Ashley put her helmet back on. "I am Ashley-B341."

"Why the hell do you have a number as a last name? That's weird," Sarge asked.

"Uh...because I'm a Spartan. Duh."

"What the hell is a Spartan?" Grif asked as he stood up.

That was the single most stupid question that a Spartan could ask. "Is he for real?" Ashley asked Sarge.

"Sadly, he is real." Sarge answered with a sincere tone.

"Well, you should know what a Spartan is. After all, ya'll are Spartans."

"Really?" asked Simmons, unconvinced. "I don't think we are. Command never called us that."

"If you're not, then why are you wearing Spartan armor?" Ashley countered. It was a completely legit question.

"This is just what was issued to us. It's red, since we're Red Team," Simmons answered. "Mine's maroon, though. Grif's is orange because he's an dumbass."

"Red Team," She whispered to herself. Then she asked in a noraml tone; "Is Blue Team nearby?"

"Those dirty Blues are on the other side of this canyon. Why?" Sarge replied.

"I'll explain later," Ashley yelled as she sprinted out of the door, headed for the other side of the canyon. She had her helmet under her should, and let her hair feel the breeze. She reached the top of a hill, and noticed another base. Not too far from the base, there was a Phantom crashed in a waterfall.

That had to be Blue Teams work. She had heard the exploits of Blue Team. Spartans 117, 87,and 104 were legends. She ran up into the base, there was no one inside. Ashley exited out the door opposite of the one she entered. She noticed three Spartans observing a Sangheili corpse.

"What the hell is that?" The Spartan in teal armor asked, poking it with his foot. He had a Battle Rifle slung over his back, which he grabbed and checked the clip in it. "I could shoot it, if you want me to."

"No, Tucker, it's already dead," said the Spartan with gray-blue armor. He had a Sniper Rifle in his hands. "It looks like thing you gave birth to."

"What the fuck, Church? Junior was a lot smaller," Tucker shot back.

"Well, it's been like, a while, since we last saw him. Things grow."

"Heck yeah they do. My thing grows all the time. Bow-chicka-wow-wow."

_That was way too much information, _Ashley thought. _Wait, how can the teal person have a baby if they have a 'thing?' _She shuddered and tried not to think about it. _This can't be Blue Team._

"Can you stop fighting? Tucker's baby is trying to sleep." This time, it was the normal-blue Spartan with Mark V armor and an Assault Rifle.

"Caboose, you're an idiot," said Church. "We should bury this thing."

"I'm going to bury my thing in a-"

"Tucker, just stop right there."

Ashley walked out of the base, hoping to get some useful info from these people. Something hit her hard in the head from behind her. _What the fuck?_ With a cry of pain, she collasped to the ground, and sunk into unconscienceness.

**...**

Drai Sel'gath felt something on his face. It felt like dirt. He opened his eyes and saw a pile of dirt next to him. _I'm in a hole, _he noticed. It had seemed like a while since he had fallen asleep inside of his Phantom, which was docked in the Covenant Crusier.

"Tucker, you should have made the hole bigger. His feet are sticking out."

"I thought you were supposed to get his feet."

_Those are human voices, _Drai realized. He jumped out of the hole, his hand flew down to his hip, grabbing the hilt of his Energy Sword. "Demons!" He yelled when saw the two people trying to bury him.

"Holy shit! It's alive!" shouted the teal one.

"Maybe he's friendly," the one with the Sniper Rifle suggested.

Drai let out a roar and flicked his wrist, activating the weapon's dual plasma blades.

"Then again, maybe not," said the teal one.

"Tucker, use your sword," the one with the sniper raised the rifle at Drai's head. A moment later, Drai's sword cut through the barrel of the Sniper Rifle. "Son of a bitch! Those are expensive!"

Tucker swung at the Elite with his own sword. Drai easily blocked the attack. The blue-gray demon jumped at the Minor with a Magnum. _Fool! _Drai brought his sword up to the Spartan while kicking the teal one. He rolled down the hill, dropping his sword on the way down. The other was stabbed in the chest when he landed on Drai's sword. The demon muttered some last words, "Mother...fucker." Drai grabbed him by the neck and threw him toward the other one. The body hit the ground and rolled a few feet before hitting a rock.

The Elite activated his Active Camoflauge and took off running. There was a crashed human dropship nearby, with a cave next to it. He dectivated his sword, and put it back on his hip.

"Excuse me."

Drai turned around. There was a human. He was average height, wearing a black trenchcoat that went to his knees, cover most of the black jeans he was wearing. On his head there was a black fedora, blocking the Elite from seeing the man's eyes. An interesting selection of clothing. He had a gruff chin with stubble around his chin. Between his thumb and index finger, he was holding a cigarette.

The Sangheili looked for the person this human was addressing. Surely he couldn't be talking to him, he was practially invisible with his Active Camo.

"Yes, I'm talking to you, Drai Sel'gath." The man rasied his hand, and Drai was lifted up. He was left hovering in midair, unable to do anything. The man's hand began to glow, and the light soon enveloped the helpless Sangheili. "Hmm...sheild strength level three," the mysterious man said in a Texan accent. Drai's sword detatched from his hip and levitated closer to the man. "Plasma sword, damage level five. That should be a slight improvement." he muttered, pocketing the dumbell-shaped weapon. The Sangheili managed a few words, "How are you doing this, human?" It was said the the Sangheili language.

"My power is now, almost, unlimited. You'd be surprised at what I can do," the man answered, fluently in the Sangheili's native language. Drai was speechless. Humans couldn't speak their language. There were too many sounds that could only be made with Sangheili mandibles. The Elite's Active Camo module flew into the man's hands. He studied it for a minute. "This should replace those old, outdated Stealth Boys that we've been using."

With a wave of his hand, the man sent Drai flying backward out of the cave. He waved his hand again, causing a portal to appear in front of him. "Adios," he waved at the Sangheili and stepped through the portal.

Just staring at the rip in space seemed to draw him in, as if it had some sort of supernatural powers. Well, it kinda did, as random portals don't open every day. Drai summoned all the courage he had in him, and jumped head first into the portal. It closed behind him.

**...**

_All around her was white. All she could see was white. Nothingness. She was still in her full armor, with her Assault Rifle on her back, stolen Plasma Rifle on her hip, and three Plasma Grenades on her other hip. _I guess I died, _she thought._

_"Really? When I intend to kill, I kill." _

_She turned around. There was a man, dressed from head to toe in black. Black hat covering his eyes, black trench coat, black jeans. She grabbed her Assault Rifle and aimed it at the man. "Who are you?" She asked._

_"My dear Ashley, now is not the time for violence." With a flick of his hands, the Assault Rifle flew out of Ashley's grip. "The MA5B Assault Rifle doesn't meet my standards. However..." Her stolen Plasma Rifle levitated into the man's hand. "This could make a decent sidearm." Raising his other hand, the man levitated her Plasma Grenades to him. "These can replace the Thermal Detonaters." _

_Ash just stared at him. "You're the reason that I was knocked out? Why? And where the hell are we?"_

_The man stared at her. For once she could see his eyes. They were yellow, sinister looking. Ashley took a step back, toward her fallen Assault Rifle, which was sitting on nothingness. "I came here since some technological upgrades could've been found." He smiled one of those evil smiles. "Ashley B-341, you are not from this world, and this is not the last you will visit."_

_Another step back. "Not from this world? What do you mean?"_

_"Come on, you remember the Covenant ship, _Truth and Reconciliation, _I think was its name."_

_She looked at him. "How did you know about that?"_

_"I know everthing." With that, he waved his hand and vanished, Covie weapons with him._

_Ashley stood there alone in the white vastness. She felt someone poking her shoulder. "What the-"_

She jerked her eyes open. The person referred to as Tucker was standing next to her. "What the fuck happened? We found you knocked out," he said, leaning over her.

"Something hit me in the back of the head," she said, keeping what had happened afterward in her mind confidential. Ashley sat up from the floor, groaning at the pain in the back of her head.

"You're name's Ashley, right?" Tucker asked next.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I told him." She noticed Grif standing a few feet away.

"What are you doing here?" she asked Grif.

"Sarge sent me on a siuicide mission to rescue you from the Blues. He said if that if I died-" He was interrupted by a orb of white light in the middle of the room. It grew bigger and bigger until it exploded. The room was now empty.

Caboose walked in holding a tray of cookies. Then he noticed that lack of people in the room. "Where did you guys go? Are we playing hide-and-seek? I love hide-and-seek!


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two : Desert_

**Juland Wastes, Tatooine.**

**September 1st, 2552-According to Ashley-B341's Heads Up Display.**

Tucker opened his eyes and looked around. From what he could tell, they were still inside the base, and now there was sand everywhere. He slowly got to his feet, still remembering the flash. "Church, like what the fuck was that?" Nobody answered. "Church?" Still no answer. Then Tucker noticed Grif laying on the floor. Ashley was nowhere to be seen, but her Assault Rifle was on the ground, half buried in sand. He kicked Grif in the ribs as hard as he could.

"What the hell?" Grif muttered as he woke. "What was that light? Am I dead?"

"I doubt it." Ashley walked into the room, helmet tucked under her shoulder. "Why don't you guys go take a look outside." Tucker walked up the ramp behind them and took in the sight. "Holy shit." Grif weakly stood up and joined him. "What the hell?"

They were in the same base that they had left, except now it was in a desert, and the outside was sand-blasted. There were craggy bluffs in the distance, but other than that, it was just sand and nothing else. "Where are we? Please tell me we're not in another box canyon with the Reds." Tucker asked.

"I don't know exactly where we are." The myserious man's words echoed in Ashley's ears. _You are not from this world, and this is not the last you will visit. _She sighed and told them, "I think we're in a different world than the one you come from. I come from another one, which might explain why you don't know what Spartans are."

Grif nodded. "It's a possibility."

Ashley was surprised at this. "Really? I thought you might think I was on drugs or something."

"Well, I've been sent to the future, so it doesn't sound that crazy."

"Okay..." She was surprised yet again. Sent to the future? What went on thier world? "Do we have a plan?" Tucker and Grif both shook their heads. "We should try to find a food source. We don't know how long we're going to be here." She put her orange Air Assault helemt and picked up her Assualt Rifle from a sandy floor. She marked the base on her HUD in cse they needed to go back there. "Let's go."

"Mother-fucking jackpot." Tucker yelled as he looked out into the horizon. They had been searching for any type of food or water for the past three hours, and they had only found a few inedible withered plants.

"Please tell me it's a five star hotel with an all-you-can eat buffet," Grif pleaded.

"With showers that have hot water," Ashley added.

"There might be one there," Tucker said. Ashley and Grif gasped at what Tucker had seen. There was a large city off in the distance, with what appeared to be starships flying in to and out of it. The city was easily fifty miles away.

Ashley glanced up at the sky. The two suns were still rising. Or they could be setting. She didn't know. "Well, let's go," she ordered the two non-Spartans.

"Who wants to play twenty questions," Tucker asked.

"Sure," Grif said, and they began their game. "You go first." Grif waited for a few moments, and Tucker nodded. "Is the object orange?" Tucker nodded again. "Is it pretty?" Tucker nodded a third time. "Is it Ashley?"

"Dammit! How'd you know?"

"It's obivious!"

Ashley sighed. _Holy shit, this is going to be a long walk._

_**...**_

The two suns in the sky had nearly set, blanketing the vast desert in darkness. The group had stopped for the night under the cover of a few dead trees. Ashley broke off a few of the branches and piled them in the middle of the area. She tore off the pieces of her armor that went above the hand, and struck them together with all her might. She got the sparks on her first try.

The fire ignited, casting a warm glow on the surrounding areas. Grif had already fallen asleep in his helmet, and Ashley took off her helmet, flipping it upside down and placing it on the sandy ground. She put her head in the opening, making a sorta pillow. Tucker did the same.

"You know," he said, "I don't know whether I can believe that this is a different world."

"I think it is. There was this wierd man dressed in black, and he said it was."

"That's a little creepy. When did you see him?"

"When I was knocked out in your base. He appeared in my mind."

There was a dead silence. "What was yours like?"

"Pardon?"

"What was your world like?" Ashley hadn't been expecting a queston like that. "If we are in a different world, you had to come from one that was different."

"Well, pretty shitty. There was a group of aliens known as the Covenant that was trying to eradiacte the human race. They never told us what pissed them off." Ashely sighed. "I was one of the last of my kind. I was helping a Spartan that was one of my only friends escort a package to on of the last human ships leaving the planet, Reach. It was the last human planet that we had, other than Earth. He and I got in a fight, after I tried to convince him to help me capture a Covenant ship to help any remaining humans. But, he stuck to his damn promise to Halsey that he would get that package to the ship."

Tucker frowned. "Wow, that has to suck. Who was this guy?"

"Noble Six, Spartan B312. He has a real name, but no one knows it but a handful of people."

"Why are we here?" Tucker asked, changing the subject.

Ashley smiled. "That's one of life's greatest mysteries, isn't it?"

"No, I meant why are we stuck out in a desert in an entirely different world than the one we came from?"

"I don't know," Ashley responded, "But, can you promise me one thing?"

"What?"

"No matter why we're here, will you stay with me? I need all the help I can get."

"Yes, I will."

Ashley smiled, glad to have someone to spill her troubles to. "We can talk more about our worlds later."

"Whatever." With that, the two of the fell asleep.

**...**

**Location Unknown**

**Time Unknown**

Drai Sel'gath exited the portal and into a room filled with strange human machinery. They were making something, some Human style weapon that apparently took some type of energy cell, since another machine was making those.

The black clothed human picked one of the weapons up and walked over to Drai. "Isn't it beautiful?" he asked in perfect Sangheili. "It's a Guass Rifle. I found it in a world where the Earth had been nuked. Found some good armor there, too."

Drai roared out in rage and swung his fist at the man. The man fired the weapon, and a single shot of energy flew out of the barrel and into Drai's chest. It wasn't enough to kill the Elite, but it was enough to break the shields and force Drai to his knees, steam from the energy trailing from his torso.

"You have only two choices, Sel'gath. You can either help me, or you can die."

Drai thought about it. Self preservation ran in his family. He would be helping a human, but it was a omnicsent, powerful human. One completely different from the ones he had normally faced.

"What would you have me do?"

**...**

**Mos Eisley; Tatoonie**

**September 2**

After nearly five hours of walking, they finally reached the city. "Now, we might stand out a little bit, so just act casual. Don't draw attention," Ashley ordered. Tucker and Grif nodded.

"What the hell?" Ashley exclaimed as they entered the city. There were aliens that none of them they had never seen before. There were little small humanoids covering most of their bodies in a brown cloaks, with bright yellow eyes glowing from under their hoods. They were trying to climb up a dinosaur like creature, but they fell off, causing Grif to laugh. Almost all the signs were written in a alien language.

"You know, Ashley, we're really standing out," Tucker commented.

"Shut up," Ashley irritatedly said. There was a building up ahead with a large, domed roof. Ashley peeked in the open door. A curved bar wrapped around a bartender, and there were several people at it. "I think its a bar of some sort," she told the other two.

"With booze? Hell yeah!" Tucker started to fun toward it, but Ashley grabbed his arm. "Tucker, no matter how much I could use a drink right now, we can't afford it. We don't have any of the money they use here!"

"So? Can't you just fuck them for money?"

"Tucker! No matter who much I need money, that is below my standards," Ashley shot back, causing a few people in the streets to stare. "How much could I get for doing that?"

"Depends on who you fuck," Tucker answered.

The trio entered the bar, and hoped to find someone to tell them where they were. Ashley plopped down on a stool, and Tucker sat to the left, Grif to the right.

"What it'll be?" The bartender asked.

"We're just going to sit here a while, 'cause we don't got no money," Tucker answered.

The bartender turned to Ashley. "You're the prettiest girl that has set foot in here in a while. It'll be on the house."

"Okay, then bring us the stongest thing you've got," Ashley said. The bartender went over to a wierd machine, and came back with three glasses filled with a strange blue liquid. Across from them, there was a giant furry creature, and a man whose face was half-messed up. Next to Scarface, there was a teenage boy with blonde hair.

Grif smiled to himself. "I know him," he said to Ashely, pointing at the teen. "That's Luke Skywalker."

"Are you sure?" Ashley asked. "How do you know?"

"I've seen this movie before," Grif answered, hand reaching down to his pistol. "There's going to be a fight in a few seconds." Grif pointed to an old man in a brown cloak talking to the hairy thing. "He's going to end the fight and save the kid's life."

Ashley looked at Grif suspisously. "This is a movie?"

"Yeah," the orange non-Spartan answered. "It's called Star Wars, I think."

Right about then, Scarface shoved Luke out of his chair, and pulled a strange pistol on him. When he was about to fire, a blue beam of light cut through Scarface's arm, severing it. It fell to the ground with an ugly flop, blood pooling around it. The old man was holding some kind of weapon, the thing with the blue blade. The cantina was dead silent. "Can't say that I had expected that," Ashley muttered.

Then the pub came back to life, as if nothing had happened. The old man and the kid snuck out through the back door, and Ashley stood up. "Come on, Tuck, Grif, we're leaving." They left out of the back door, the same that the old man and the kid had left through.

"So, Grif. You said that you had seen this movie. Now do you believe me why I say we're in a different world?"

"I'll go with it. It's probably just a bad dream or something," Grif responded, streching his arms out to the side. "I'll wake up in the morning and this will all be over."

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Well, if you've seen this movie, then what happens next?"

"The old dude, Ben, and Luke go sell their speeder thingy to pay for the flight that they just set up. I think."

Ashley took off her helmet, revealing her long red hair. "I'm going to talk to them. Just wait here. And Tucker," the teal non-Spartan looked up at her. "Keep these. They won't fit back on right." Ashley handed him the metal hand guards that she had used to make a fire with last night.

Then Ashley wandered around the city, searching for the kid. After about an hour, she found him casually sitting on his speeder thingy.

She casually walked over, tucking her helmet under her arm. "Hey," she greeted, as she looked over the speeder.

"Hi. The speeders for sale if you want it," Luke replied, honestly hoping that she was buying.

"I'm just looking."

Luke was staring at her armor. "Are you Imperial?"

"...No." She didn't really understand anything about this world, she didn't even know if this was real, or this was some really messed up form of the afterlife, where all people, living or fake, went when they died. "Not really. You?"

"No. They killed my uncle and aunt, and they're after me too." Luke glanced at the ground, wondering where Ben had gone. He glanced up and saw several armored figures walking toward them, laser rifles at the ready. "Speak of the devil..." They were white, and their armor seemed to be made out of what appeared to be plastic. "If they ask, you haven't seen any droids, and you don't know me."

Ashley nodded, her free hand slowly creeping toward the MA5B on her back, while she put her helmet on with the other hand. The armored troopers walked up to her. "Ashley, or Spartan B341 if you prefer."

"What do you want?" She asked, tighting her grip on her weapon, not even bothering to ask how the knew her name and service tag.

They raised their rifles. "You are under arrest. If you don't come quietly, then we will be forced to shoot. Lay your weapon on the ground."

Ashley smile beneath her helmet. "Make me." She fired a burst at the leading trooper, the one with the orange shoulder pauldron, presuming that he was the leader. The bullets tore apart the armor that he was wearing, killing the trooper. The others stared as the body fell, and turned to Ashley, and let their lasers fly out at her.

She dove behind a crate while civilians ran off in several directions screaming. Luke ran into an alley between some buildings, hiding back there. "Tucker, Grif, I need back up, now!" Ashley shouted into the comms.

"Um..." Grif responded. "We suck at fighting, so if we get you killed-"

"Just get over here!"

"Fine. Don't say that we didn't warn you."

Ashley risked a peek over the edge of the crate, and ducked down immediantly as red lasers pierced the box where her head had been moments earlier. BR55 fire echoed in the street, as Grif and Tucker ran up to her postion, but they were forced into cover by the red lasers.

"Oh look, we're pinned down. Now what?" Tucker asked, tossing the empty clip from his rifle. Grif was right though, they sucked at shooting. Not a single trooper had fallen from their fire.

The sound of the laser fire stopped, and footsteps could be heard coming up the street. Ashley looked over the edge of the box, and then wished she hadn't. A large figure wearing armor similar to MJOLNIR, but completely black, and more bulky, was walking towards them with a strange rifle in his hands.

"Oh shit, what do we do now?" Grif panicked. He was shaking, making the fact that his armor was slightly too tight quite obivious.

"Hey! What the hell is going on here!" A new voice rang out. Ashley saw the ship pilot that Luke had supposedly got a charter from. The giant walking fur ball was behind him. The man had a laser pistol raised in his hand, aimed at the large figure.

"Captain Solo, I request that you put your weapon down please. We're in the process of aquiring new technology for my army, and we wil not hesistate to kill you."

Ashley groaned. It was that damn man in black. The one that had caused her to be here in the first place. She might get the shot off, if she acted quickly. Jumping out from behind the crate, she opened fire at the mysertious man, and ran over to Tucker and Grif's crevice in a wall. It was cramped with the three of them.

"Ashley, please. You can do better."

"Dammit! I shot him!" Ashley screamed in annoyance.

The mysterious man continued on. "Captain Solo, we only have a limited amount of time before we have to leave, so I suggest that you stand down." Solo stood there, keeping his pistol trained on the armored figure.

"Then I'll see you in hell!" Solo fired several rounds into the figure, before two .44 Magnum shots rang out in the street. Ashley released the breath that she had been holding. Who ever that guy was, he and his creature were dead on the street.

"I did warn you to stand down." The mysterious man put the magnum back in his trenchcoat. "Now Ashley. I request that you turn over your armor."

"Or what?"

"Or we'll take it from you." He smiled. "Trust me. I get what I want, no matter the cost."

"Oh, yeah," Tucker bravely yelled. "Then you can suck my di-" He was cut off by a minor earthquake. Some of the smaller sand buildings collasped under the force. Ashley remained upright, holding hier rifle, while Tucker and Grif fell to the ground. Out in the street, another portal had opened.

A figure walked out from it, easily taller than Ashley by a few feet. It's top half was much more armored than its lower body. It had a sword that seemed to be made up of light as one hand, and a long rifle in another. "Who is it that disturbs my sleep!?" the thing bellowed, in a deep raspy voice.

"Well, I never thought that I would have the chance to meet one of the several hundred Promethean Guardians. I am pleased to make your aquaintence. My name is Giovanni."

Ashley perked up at the last part. It wasn't much to go on, but it was a name. The 'Promethean Guardian' shot a orange light onto Giovanni, scanning him.

"Human, I hate to tell you this, but you have left the confines of you reality and entered this one. Please make your way back to your world before I must use force," the Promethean Guardian stated, sounding like a machine.

"Not a chance," Giovanni said, pulling his magnum back out.

"Then we have nothing to talk about." The Guardian raised the lightsword and swung down at Giovanni, but a burst of energy knocked the Promethean off its ass. It rolled along the ground before coming to a complete stop. It was either dead or knocked out, Ashley couldn't tell which. Grif and Tucker were speachless.

The armored man walked over to Giovanni, smoke rising from the barrel of his weapon. "Sir, I have recieved report from our scout. He claims that the world has life, and might possibly have advanced technology. Shall we return to base and prepare for departure?" The voice was barely audible from Ashley's location, but she made out most of it.

"Not without the MJOLNIR," Giovanni turned to Ashley. "Get her, and take her armor. Wipe the memories of the other two. I might have use for them later."

The armored man turned and tossed a strange object at them, impossible to dodge in the close quarters that they were in. It detonated, emitting a white light, blinding Ashley, and knocking out Grif and Tucker. It must ahve been a stun grenade. Her armor was in complete lockdown. _Must've been some sort of EMP. _She could only watch as the figure approached her.

He picked her up, which was impressive since she was an augmented Spartan wearing a full ton of armor. The armored man slung her over his shoulder, and walked over to the portal that had been left open by the Promethean Guardian.

_I don't think this will end well, _Ashley thought.

**...**

Luke Skywalker was in shock. He took cover behind a building as the shooting had started, and had seen everything. The creature that had come from the portal stirred, and stood up. It walked around for a minute, before kicking the dead body of the man who had bravely stood against the man and the Stormtroopers.

The Guardian looked directly at Luke, who began to back away slowly. Luke eventually broke off into a full run. The Guardian shrugged, and enclosed its body in light and teleported, much like the Promethean Knights that it had been based off of.

It reappeared before Luke, calmly staring at the farmer boy, who was reaching for a weapon on his belt.

"There is no need for a weapon, human. I am not hostile to you," The Promethean Guardian said, making Luke stop his attempt to get his weapon, which was his late father's lightsaber.

"What do you mean?"

"You saw everything that happened, and I need information. Do you know the names of everyone involved in the incident?"

"Um...well, there was a Stormtrooper that called the girl in the orange armor Ashley. And then something about a Spartan B341. That's all I know."

The Guardian scanned all the files that he had on him. "Ah yes, Spartan Ashley B341. World of Origin, Halo. It seems that she too managed to escape the confines of her world as well." The Promethean stared down at Luke. "If they kidnapped her, then it is my duty to rescue her, and send her back to her reality. It's why I'm here." He aimed his arm at the open air, and shot out a white ball of light, which expanded into a portal. He ran through, leaving Luke mystified.

The portal seemed to have an enticing effect on those who saw it, as Luke was longing to go into it despite the fact that he wasn't sure if it would lead to death, or to a tropic island.

"What the hell? Well, curiousity killed the womp rat," he charged through the open portal, leaving behind everything he had ever known.


	3. Chapter 3: Desert

_Chapter Three: As If Nothing Happened_

**Val Halla Outpost Number One**

**Date Unknown**

Simmons was standing guard on top of the base. Since Grif had disappeared a few days ago, Sarge was in a really good mood. Simmons was usually a kiss ass, but something was wrong. He missed the orange dude that stank and smoked.

"Isn't this great? No Grif!" Sarge exclaimed as he ran around the base, tossing all of Grif's smoke-stenched clothes into the creek.

"I guess so." Simmons sighed. Things were certainly about to change around here. Then he noticed the figure on the horizon, walking over the hill toward the base. Even though the figure was far away, he could still make out the orange armor, and he knew Sarge was going to be pissed. "Grif is back."

Sarge ran over to him at lightning speed. "Funny thing. I thought you just said that Grif was back."

"He is. Look." Simmons pointed out to the approaching figure.

Sarge grabbed a Sniper Rifle, and used the scope to get a closer look at the orange figure. "Shit." He fired at Grif striking the orange armored non-Spartan in the head. Grif fell down on the ground, bleeding from the wound in his head.

"What the fuck, sir?! You killed Grif!"

"And that should make the world a better place!" That wasn't like Sarge. That wasn't like Sarge at all...He hated Grif, and threated to kill him at least thirty-seven times everyday, but he never acted upon any of the death threats.

"But that's murder!"

Sarge sighed. "Simmons, there are somethings that have to be done." He walked away from the base, heading for the Warthog. "Now I need to kill Tucker."

Simmons watched as the Warthog drove away, kicking up dirt as it went. Something was really wrong here. He stared at the body of Grif, laying several yards away. The two people that disappeared for a few days are now the ones that were about to die...

Seeing as there was really nothing he could do for Grif, he decided to get to the bottom of this, for his friend. But first, he had to warn Tucker.

**...**

Tucker stood in his room, feeling as if something was out of place. He felt like there was a part of his life that was missing, and there would be nothing that could bring it back. Leaning against his wall, he let out a deep breath.

Had everything just been a dream? He could barely bring up images of a girl, but that was all. It was most likely one he had seen on a porn site. He reached for his pouch where he kept his...personal items, going for a picture that he had of...take a guess.

His hand hit something metal, and he pulled out two orange metal hand plates. Could they be that yellow guy's on the other side of the canyon? Tucker really wouldn't have known where he would have gotten them from him...

Staring at them, memories came flooding back to him. The space ship crashing, the arrival of the mystery girl, the alien that looked like Junior.

A night around a campfire, him, Grif, and the girl. Other worlds. "What the hell?" Tucker muttered to himself. The hand guards must have triggered some sort of recall. He heard a sharp crack from the other side of the canyon, meaning that Sarge probably shot at Grif again. He always missed.

Tucker then remembered the worst part of the flashback. The EMP thing. Getting knocked out, his last visions of Ashley getting taken away by that dude in the power armor. He and Grif were taken to some sort of research facility, where they were hooked up to strange machines. They been wiped of their memories in that other world. That was all he remembered. Other than that Ashley was in danger. He felt a flame ignite in his heart.

_Dammit, I think I fell in love. _He then knew that he might be the only hope that Ashley would have. And he was ready to take the chance... They had first been transported by a white light in the main room of the tower, and that was where he headed first.

"Tucker! Is that you?" His radio blared. The call sign indicated that it was none other than Dick Simmons.

"What do you want, Red?" Tucker asked, setting his Battle Rifle down on the bed that Ashley had been on when they first were teleported.

"You have to get out of there! Sarge killed Grif, and now he's after you!" Simmons shouted.

Tucker looked over the strange machine in the wall of the main room. It was of the same design as the rest of the building, but it seemed to be used as something more than scenery.

"How can I trust you, Red?" Tucker shot back, fiddling with the machine. This might have been how they were transported...

"Tucker, what the hell are you doing?" Church asked, walking into the main room of the base. He apparently wasn't able to get a new body after the fight with the alien, as Tucker still saw the blackened slits where the plasma blade had stabbed him.

"I'm going to save a friend," he replied cryptically.

"By messing with that worthless piece of crap?" Church went over to it and pulled down what appeared to be a metal bar. "I've tried to figure out what this thing does forever," the cobalt non-Spartan said as a panel ejected from the wall, with a handprint on it. "And that's all it does."

"Have you tried putting you hand in it?" Tucker asked, closing the comm with Simmons.

"What do you think, fucktard?" Church shouted at him. "I've tried it, Caboose has tried it, he even traced his hand in it, and that didn't work!"

Tucker slowly put his hand in the impression of the hand. A green glow lit up the room, before a white ball of light formed in the room.

"Okay, I admit that's never happened," Church commented, as the light expaneded and absorbed the two of them.

**Unknown Space Station**

**Sept. 3**

Ashley strained against the metal bands that held her limbs to the table. They had to be made out of something strong, as even her Spartan strength wasn't able to tear them out. She was even still clad in her armor.

Giving up any chance at that, she looked around the room, absorbing her surroundings. She was in what appeared to be a scientist's lab, mainly because of the test tubes and what appeared to be a bulkier rip off of MJOLNIR, in a standing position. Machines stood at a standstill around the armor, as ready to seal it up around a person.

One whole wall was a window, looking out over the stars. That meant that she was on a ship of some sort.

"Fucking great," she muttered, as she tried to break the bands. "Son of a bitch!"

"I would've expected more than a Spartan," Giovanni said dryly, as he made his presence known. He was wearing the same black attire that he was used to, calmly standing in the corner.

"What the hell do you want?" Ashley asked, once again attempting to break free. The machines around the other armor suit moved on tracks on the roof over to her. The tips of the mechanical arms had drills, and srcewdrviers, and what appeared to be a laser cutter.

"What I want, is your armor," Giovanni replied, walking over to the table were Ashley was trapped. "Perhaps with some modifications, it can surpass what we already have." He waved his hand over to the other armor.

"This is the T-45B Power Armor," He explanied. "Developed on Earth in 2076, used in the Resource Wars that ended with a nuclear war. At least in one world." He picked up a rifle from a rack behind the armor. "This is a Guass Rifle. Shoots similar to the guass turrets that the UNSC puts on the back of their Warthogs."

Ashley realized that she might be able to stall Giovanni, buying herself sometime to plot an escape. "Why are you doing all of this? Why bother?"

Giovanni smiled, and went over to a computer. "My objective is to collect all the keystones of the eight Res'nee worlds, so that I can venture into the Prime World." A holographic image of a small, circular rock appeared. There was an unidentifiable rune etched onto it. "This is one of the three we have. This is the one from the world you just left."

Staring blankly at him, Ashley asked; "The Prime World?" She hoped that he would go into a full explanation of it all, giving her some thinking time.

Raising his eyebrows as if he knew she was stalling, Giovanni took the bait. "The Prime World is the world that all other worlds came from. My world, you world, and so many more. Nine keystones are required to get there, the eight from the Res'nee worlds, and a ninth, that no one knows where it is."

"However, a loophole might have been found," Giovanni continued. The hologram switch from the keystone to a figure she recognized. That Promethean Guardian.

"This amazing creation has the ability to open portals to other worlds, while we have to use the towers. It's creators based the design off of their Promethean Knights, which were used a military units."

"And which world did those come from?" Ashley asked, buying more time as she gently moved her hands back and forth against the cuffs, trying to unhook her armor's guantlets so she could get her hands free. She would have to unstrap her leg armor last.

"Prometheans are from your world, my dear Ashley," Giovanni replied, smiling. "And, the-" He was cut off by the shrieks of alarms ringing all over the space station.

Pressing a finger to his ear, Giovanni barked out orders to people, while Ashley continued to struggle. "Well, we will have to continue this later," the man in black said as he walked to the door. "It seems that we have intruders."

He left her there in the room, and five minutes later, Ashley heard the door slide open. She didn't even look up.

"There she is!" The voice was familiar, that of a person she figured she would never see again.

"Tucker?" Ashley leaned her head up on the table, watching as the teal and cobalt non-Spartans enter the room. "How in the hell did you two get here?"

"Long story," Tucker answered as he pressed a button next to the door, closing it. "Church, see if you can free her from the computer over there."

Church folded his arms. "What makes you think that I know about computers? I really know nothing about them whatsoever."

"That's kinda fucking ironic since you are a computer," Tucker shot back, shifting his BR55 in his hands. He glanced around the room. "Oh look, we have no other way out."

Church mumbled something under his breath as he went over to the computer terminal and started pressing buttons. "I wish Caboose was here. He always was good with buttons."

"Are you kidding? He was a retard with buttons. Only once did it ever help us as of yet," the teal non-Spartan said. "Caboose killed you man," Tucker said, walking over to Ashley.

The restraints popped open, freeing Ashley from the table. "Great," she said. "Now how are we getting out of here?"

Tucker scratched the back of his head, even with his armor on. "Didn't plan that far ahead," he admitted. "Perhaps we'll get lucky."

Groaning, Ashley walked over to the rack that Giovanni had put the 'Guass Rifle,' and picked it up, noting that it was quite similar to human weapons, considering that it was one.

A messege flashed on her HUD. 'Unidentifed Weapon.' Below that were the words 'Would you like to register this weapon?'

Ashley selected the 'yes' option using the tac-pad on her wrist. 'Please enter weapon name,' appeared on the Heads-Up-Display, and Ashley entered "Guass Rifle.'

A small blue icon of the weapon appeared in the top right corner of the HUD, signaling that the registration had been complete.

"We need to get out of here," Church said. "The security terminal shows that they are at the door." He turned his BR55 at the door, and slowly backed up behind some crates. Then something smashed against the door, causing an inward dent.

"Oh shit," Tucker cursed, flicking his wrist to activate the blades of his Energy Sword. Another smash, and the door caved in, sending up a cloud of dust and allowing whatever inside.

A figure walked through the dust, and out into the open. It was one of those people in black T-45b armor, brandishing a minigun.

Ashley aimed down the scope of her Guass Rifle, and fired off a shot right to the head. The enemy's orange shields flared, holding quite strong. It retaliated by firing the minigun at them, letting hundreds of bullets fly out and into Church's crates.

"We're screwed!" Church shouted, as Ashley crouched behind a metal wall, trying to figure out how to make the Guass Rifle reload. "Where's Tucker?"

Tucker ran at the enemy, sword ready. The huge person in the black power armor turned toward him, but was too slow, and Tucker brought his sword through him, breaking the shields, stabbing it.

The enemy spasmed, dropping the minigun to the ground. It followed the weapon, and lay face down on the floor, dead.

"Hey, I did it!" Tucker exclaimed, throwing his fist up in triumph.

"It's hardly a victory," Giovanni said, as he entered the room flanked by three more of the armored foes, each sporting a shoulder mounted weapon that Ashley had never seen before. "That was merely luck, and a design flaw."

Tucker walked cautiously over towards Ashley, sword pointed at the man wearing all the black clothing. "Who the fuck are you?"

Smiling, Giovanni stepped forward. "I am the soon to be ruler of the worlds, and perhaps even the Sidera."

Ashley looked around for an escape, taking Tucker's pistol off his hip. She was glad to have a familiar weapon in her hands. The armored guys had them pinned down, and could kill the three of them in seconds.

"You want me, don't you?" Ashley finally said.

"That is exactly what I want." Giovanni cupped a lighter in his hands as he lit a cigarette and took a drag.

"My armor, right?" Ashley's eyes darted from place to place, scanning for anyway out of this.

"Actually, that was a complete lie," Giovanni admitted, releasing smoke from his mouth. "The reason I want you is to get to your world."

Ashley was taken aback by the words. Her hand clamped Tucker's pistol as she put the Guass Rifle on her back. "Go into detail. And tell your Armors to back down." That was what she was going to call the power armored foes; Armors. Not very original, but who cares when it's shooting at you.

"You entered that other world differently than I enter my worlds." Tucker almost made a perverted joke there, but the Armors had their weapons pointed right at him.

"We use the towers, but you, you did something else," Giovanni continued. "You came through slipspace, something I have tried before, but all test subjects were killed."

One of the Armors flinched as its shields were hit by some sort of red light beams that came through the open door. Another shot hit it, breaking the shields and disintegrating the Armor into orange light particles. Everyone in the room just stared, flabbergasted.

"That's a headshot," The familiar form of the Promethean Guardian walked through the door, followed by yet another familiar figure. Luke Skywalker was holding a strange pistol in his hand, looking awed at the sights of the space station.

"Protocol dictates that I must return you to your worlds," The Guardian said, looking at each figure. "It is my duty."

"Get him, keep him alive, though," Giovanni simply ordered to his troops. They turned with their shoulder weapons aimed at the creature.

"Tucker, does the armor you and Church have protect against space?" Ashley asked, staring at the window amnd out into space.

"Yeah, why?" Tucker replied, still holding the plasma blades toward Giovanni.

"Hey, Promethean guy," Ashley yelled at the Guardian. "Can you protect Luke from spatial voids?"

"Certainly. It was among my-"

"Do it." Ashley watched as a blue energy shield formed around Luke, lifting off the ground.

"This is making me feel sick," Luke complained, dropping the pistol, which fell through the shield to the metal floor.

The Armors slowly approached Luke and the Guardian, weapons carefully aim at them. The time to act was now.

Ashley raised the M6D at the window, and turned her head to look right into Giovanni's eyes. She saw a look of slight amusement, but a slight hint of fear.

She pulled the trigger.

The bullet smashed into the window, shattering the glass and exposing them to outer space. The instant decrease in pressure broke the other windows, and sucked everything, and everyone in the room out.

Ashley caught Church by the wrist, and Tucker by his hand. They floated farther and farther away from the space station, when they saw Luke and the Guardian.

"This is a whole new experience," Luke said, floating in the shield protecting him from space.

"So now what?" Tucker asked, putting his deactivated sword onto his hip.

"I didn't think that far ahead," Ashley replied, smiling behind her blue visor.

"Your chit-chat isn't helping," Church intervened. "I'm scared to hell right now."

"Allow me to guide us to a destination to rest," the Guardian said, and fired off a small ball of light out of his arm. The ball flew several yards, before expanding into a portal. Ashley, Tucker and Church were the first through.

They were falling. At least there was gravity here. Ashley lost her grip on both Tucker and Church, and threw her hands in front of her to shield her face from the fall. She hit the ground, and lay there from a few minutes to rest.

Hearing two more thumps on the ground, she assumed that Tucker and Church had made it. Glancing up, she saw that she had hit sand, and that they appeared to be in a desert.

The Promethean Guardian had released Luke, and was walking toward a city that seemed to be like the one where the had found Luke.

"Is that Mos Eisley?" Luke asked, brush the sand off of his simple farmer tunic.

"No," the Guardian replied. "Welcome to the Sidera."


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four: The Sidera and the Test_

**Town of Siger, in the Mid-World designate Sidera**

**September 3**

Ashley wiped her the sweat brow with her free hand, she held her helmet under her shoulder in her other hand. They had been walking for what seemed like hours in and the desert was smolderingly hot. Luke seemed to be withstanding the heat fine, probably because he was from a desert planet.

"Where are we?" Church asked, looking all around the vast desert.

"I told you," the Guardian replied, sounding annoyed. "This is the Sidera. It is the mid-world of the Res'nee Worlds and Prime World."

"English, you fucking robot."

"The Res'nee worlds are the eight worlds that you come from," the Guardian explained. "This is, in essence, the only way to the Prime World from the Res'nee Worlds."

"Right, like I understood that perfectly," Church said sarcastically.

The Guardian stopped, and used some sort of built in projection device to bring up an image. It was a large circle with eight smaller circles around it. "The large circle represents the Sidera. The smaller ones are the Res'nee worlds. If you were to bring the keystones from the eight worlds here, you could gain access to the Prime World."

"Okay, that makes some more sense," Church replied, even more sarcastically. "What the hell is the Prime World?"

"That's the world were all other worlds were made," Ashley answered, getting an odd look from the Guardian.

"How do you know that?"

"Remember that fellow Giovanni? He told me while he held me captive."

The Guardian seemed worried. "If he knows of the Sidera and Prime World, then this matter is much more than what I feared. We must act quickly."

"What happened to Grif?" Ashley asked, switching subjects as she caught up with Tucker. He was ahead of them, with the Guardian farther up ahead of them, muttering to himself the danger level and what not. The village that they had seen was in sight, but still far away.

Tucker glanced over at Church, who shrugged. "As if we would know. He's on Red Team."

"Simmons said he was killed," Tucker admitted, getting strange looks from the other members in the group, save for the Guardian.

Ashley wasn't really close with Grif, so it really wasn't a big deal to her. "That's...too bad," she said. Luke, who hadn't even known them for more than an hour, nodded.

"So, kid," Tucker went over to Luke. "Why don't you tell us about yourself, since we're going to be stuck here for a while."

Luke shrugged. "Not much to tell, really. Born somewhere, and raised by my aunt and uncle on a moisture farm. Then, we got two new droids, one wanders, and I go to look for it." Luke stopped walking, and took a small canteen off his belt. After taking a sip, he offered it around to the rest of the group, but there were no takers.

"Then I got ambushed, and was saved by Ben Kenobi. He wanted to take me along with him to Alderaan, to learn the ways of the Force."

Ashley listened intently as he went on to describe the events that led to his arrival here. His aunt and uncle killed by the Empire, and hiring a Captain named Han Solo to get them to Alderaan, and then he witnessed the battle in the streets that led him here.

She then turned her focus on the village that they had reached. The buildings were similar to those of Mos Eisley, made out of sand. The citizens were the strangest part, though.

There were severel species living here, and Ashley could name four that she saw immediantly. Humans, Sangheili, Unggoy, and Kig-Yar. There were many others that she could recognize from Luke's world, but didn't know their name, and there were more that she had no clue what they were.

Everyone wore the same thing. A white tunic over their chest, that also went down to their knees, making it seem that they all were wearing white dresses.

The Humans glanced up at the approaching group, with looks of horror, amusement, and curiosity, while some pushed their children behind them to protect them. The Sangheili balled their four-fingered hands into fists, ready to strike should the need arise. The Unggoy backed away, living up to their cowardly nature. The Kig-Yar remained still, while several other species went and pulled whatever weapons they had out, which were mostly crude knifes and daggers, but Ashley saw a UNSC M6C pistol among them.

The Guardian shouted out something in a strange tounge, and the crowd slowly went back to whatever it was they were doing, still eyeing them strangely.

"What did you tell them?" Luke asked, watching as the crowd dispersed.

"It is in these people's religion that a group of people from several other worlds will come together and save the world, and among that group is a individual that shall be united with the deity of the well, and become a deity himself," the Guardian said. "I told them that you all were to take the test."

"Screw the test," Tucker exclaimed as the group walked through the town, led by the Guardian. "We have to be the only group that fits that description."

The Guardian turned and faced him. "Actually, you are the 853rd group that fits the description. None had ever passed the test, and I was forced to put down whatever trans-realm crisis on my own."

"Okay, so we're probably gonna flunk this test," Tucker commented. "If we're so big in these guys religion, shouldn't they be worshipping us? Or giving us tons of gifts and stuff?"

Ashley snickered at the idea. Luke rolled his eyes and sighed. "With our luck, I'm surprised that they haven't killed us yet," the farm boy said. He seemed to be taking the whole 'other worlds' idea pretty well.

"Most people in this town are losing faith in their religion, as no one has even been identified as the hero," the Guardian went on. The group came to a stop at what appeared to be the center of the town, where there was a well surrounded by eight rectangular stone pillars. An even larger pillar stood a few feet away.

"So, I'm guessing this is the well that has the deity in it?" Ashley asked, peering down into the hole in the ground.

"Supposedly, yes," the Promethean Guardian answered. "This is the place to be tested. Who shall go first?"

When no one raised their hand, Ashley volunteered. "Since I have the balls to do it," she commented.

"Just jump in the well."

Ashley looked around, noting the large crowd that had gathered around them, and then down into the well. It seemed to be an endless drop. "Don't you think that is a little suicidal?"

"Do you trust me?" the Guardian asked, giving her a questioning look.

"Um...maybe?" she answered. And with a release of breath, she fell forward and into the well.

It seemed like an endless fall, where she just kept going down, faster and faster. She was falling head first, which meant that when, if she ever did, reach the bottom, it would hurt. Ashley flipped herself rightside up after falling for what seemed like an enternity.

Just like that, her falling slowed down, and slowed down, until she hit a rock floor. The impact was still pretty hard, but not that bad for a Spartan. She looked around, noting that the cave like room she was in was piled to the roof in sparkling golden coins. Ashley gasped, removing her helmet to observe the sight with her own eyes.

She walked over to a pile, and picked up several coins in a single handfull, letting the slip between her fingers down to the floor, where they hit the ground soundlessly. Ashley walked through a arch, deciding not to mess with the money, as se really didn't wan't to tick off a deity by taking his money.

The Spartan practically did a double take as she entered the next room. "What the...?" The room looked like a room from a bad porn movie. Shag carpet, scented candles everywhere, and even a giant heart shaped bed smack in the middle of the room.

There was a man in the bed, with the lower half of his body under the covers. Ashley was sure that he was wearing nothing. He smiled as he saw her. "Would you like to join me?"

Ashley stared at him, taking in his features. Well toned muscles, six pack abs, and the fact that he was probably the single hottest guy in humanity, meeting all of her standards in what she looked for in guys.

The problem was her libido. Since she was a Spartan, she never honestly had the desire to do something like that, even with a guy as irresistable as him. "Not right now," she answered, and walked through the door on the other side of the room, trying to erase the events of that room.

The next room was a cave, with a lava river right in the middle, blocking her passage to the other door. As Ashley neared the river, she tripped over a rock, and the Guass Rifle on her back flew off, and into the river.

"I didn't even know how to use that thing anyway," she muttered, standing up and trying to figure out how she had tripped.

tfours, and its body seemed to be made of magma and steel.

"What the hell are you?" The Spartan asked, slowly returning her helmet to her head. She looked for anything to use as a weapon should the need arise.

"I am what people refer to as a Heatran, from a different world than yours," the creature said. "I am curious, what weapon did you drop into here?" Six weapons instantly appeared floating in a circle around Ashley. The first she recognized as a BR55, the next three she had never seen before, then there was the Guass Rifle, followed by a MA37, the weapon of her choice.

She pointed to the MA37, figuring that if she wasn't meant to be the deity, then at least she would have a good gun.

The Heatran smiled. "Then here you go." The other weapons dissapeared, leaving the Assault Rifle for Ashley to take.

It wasn't what Ashley had expected to happen, but she shrugged and took the gun, putting it on her back.

"That was the final of the three test," the Heatran told her. "As your score is processed, please proceed." A bridge of solid steel formed over the lava, allowing her to pass. "The final room shall test your courage and endurance, as well as how well you can survive.

Taking a deep breath, Ashley walked across the bridge, and into the final test.

**Somewhere in the Prime World**

**July 11, 2013**

I sighed as I clicked the send button, and waited for the pop-up to say that the document had sent. Then I logged off of and shut my laptop down.

I leaned back into my bed, relieved that I could catch some sleep. If I hadn't sent the document, I would have a hell of a time trying to sleep. This is rather hard to explain, but here I go.

It all started one night, and that night was burned into my mind. December 19th, 2012. The day was normal, and I had just finished the fourteenth chapter for a different one of my fanfics, and had settled in for some sleep. That night, I had a dream.

In that dream, there was a Spartan, who was escaping the planet of Reach. She boarded a Covenant Cruiser, but she was thrown out into the void of slipspace. But, she didn't die she ended up in another world. And if you've read the other chapters, you know what happened.

But the part I left out, was the deity. It appeared at the end of the dream. It said that if I didn't tell other of the story, if I didn't tell the Tale of the Sidera, then there would be dire consequences. She went on to claim that I had been the one chosen to do this for various reasons that she never stated.

I rubbed my eyes, and glanced over at my Ipod, which was doubling as a radio. The station was playing Anna Kendrick's When I'm Gone.

Drifting off, I hoped for a nice, dreamless sleep. Perhaps I could dream of kittens, or puppies, or something really nice. Not a vast desert mid-world, not of the man who wanted to take it over, not of the people who stood against him.

But, sometimes, we don't get what we want.


End file.
